Over the past three summers, I've spent a lot of time photographing Coney Island. What began as a collection of photographs made across different visits eventually became my first photo zine, The World Between June and September.
The zine brings together 32 photographs made between 2023 and 2025. It's a project I've wanted to make for a while, and I'm excited to finally have these photographs collected in a physical form.
The World Between June and September Zine Cover
Why Coney Island?
To many, New York City is the “Mecca” of street photography. I tend to agree, in the least pretentious way possible. Within the city, Midtown is an obvious first choice, but Coney Island in the summertime is a close second.
Anyone who has experienced a summer day at Coney Island, photographer or not, knows that the energy is special. The area has also been photographed by some of my own photography heroes, including Garry Winogrand, Alex Webb, Bruce Davidson, Robert Frank, and many more.
Since my first visit in 2023, I've returned to Coney Island several times each summer to make photographs. Gradually, I built a collection of images that I wanted to do something more with.
Over those three summers, I accumulated photographs of the people and moments I encountered along the beach and boardwalk. Eventually, I started thinking about how these images might work together as a single body of work in a zine.
Why make a photo zine?
As I explained in my zine announcement video, making a photo zine was one of several goals I set when I turned 28, all of which I wanted to accomplish before turning 30.
I'd printed work in the past, during my landscape photography days, but hadn't printed anything since. I'd also never edited and sequenced my photographs outside of social media, a skill I definitely want to continue building. It was a challenge, and I do think I improved during the process. I'm already looking forward to whatever my next zine might be because I learned a lot.
The idea of seeing my photographs in print was exciting, but putting the work out there was also a little intimidating. Once a collection becomes a physical product that I sell, it feels different from sharing individual photographs online. You're committing to a particular selection, sequence, and presentation.
I also tend to lack the confidence in my photographs to feel like they're worth anything more than being seen online. But I kept reminding myself that a zine doesn't have to be a grand statement. It's a relatively low-key commitment compared with producing a full photobook, putting together a gallery, or organizing a show.
Editing and sequencing the photographs
One of the challenges of making a photo zine is deciding which photographs belong together. Selecting individual images is one thing; figuring out how they work as part of a larger sequence is another.
For The World Between June and September, I brought together 32 photographs made over those three summers. I had to think about how the images related to one another, how the sequence moved from one photograph to the next, and how the collection would feel when experienced as a book.
The photographs needed to work both on their own and as part of the larger collection. That meant thinking beyond which images I liked most and considering the experience of moving through the zine from beginning to end.
I started with 200 selects on my computer, chosen from thousands of photographs I'd made there. Then I worked my way down to 100. I printed 4 × 6 photographs and spent a few afternoons laying them out, seeing which images paired well, which felt substantial enough to keep, and which needed to go. From there, I continued editing until I arrived at the final selection.
The final selection is my take on the photographs I've made at Coney Island during that period. It's a small part of the work I've made there, but I'm happy to finally have it in one place. Overall, it feels like a decent representation of my voice and how I see Coney Island.
Turning the photographs into a physical book
Once I had brought the photographs together, the next step was producing the zine itself.
The World Between June and September is a 52-page, landscape-format photo zine measuring 8.5 × 5.5 inches.
I used Mixam to print and fulfill the zine. Having the publication available through my website means people can order a copy without me needing to manage printing and shipping myself.
In the future, I'd like to handle more of the fulfillment myself so I can add more personal touches to the process. With my current schedule, though, I wouldn't be able to manage printing, packing, and shipping orders reliably. Using Mixam lets me make the zine available without taking on that responsibility myself.
My first photo zine
Making this zine reminded me that some creative projects only happen when you decide to commit to them. I'd wanted to make a photo zine for years, and setting myself the goal of completing one before turning 30 finally pushed me to do it.
Is it perfect? No. Am I 100% content with it? No. Could I have made something better with more time? Probably. But did I learn a lot and accomplish something I've been wanting to accomplish for a while? Yes. To me, that makes the process worth it. If you've read this far and have never released something like this, I highly recommend it.
I'm glad I chose Coney Island as the subject. These photographs came together over several summers, and bringing them into a single publication gave me a reason to revisit the work and think about it in a new way.
I know a few of these photographs might find their way into other projects years from now, but I don't feel the need to hold this work back from being shared physically in the meantime.
This is my first zine, and I'm happy to finally have it out in the world. I'm looking forward to making more work and continuing to photograph Coney Island. I'm already planning my next zine because I enjoyed the process so much. To be honest, I'm also tired of only sharing my work online and seeing it on a phone screen.
Get a copy of the zine
The World Between June and September features 32 photographs made at Coney Island between 2023 and 2025.
View the zine and order a copy →
I also made a short YouTube video introducing the zine and talking a little about why I decided to make it.
Watch the announcement video →
Thanks for taking a look and supporting my work.
